Wen du fürchtest

"Den du frygter" ("Fear Me Not" in English) reminded me of David Cronenberg's movies. The results of the main character's taking the pills call to mind the risks associated with pharmaceuticals. We hear about side effects, but what happens to this man go beyond that. It would make more sense if the natural substances were more available.

It's a very well done movie. This is partly because the viewer thinks that there are degrees to which the movie won't go...but it goes to them. We also get a look at the Danish countryside; its idealistic appearance belies the character's descent into madness. I'm unfamiliar with the rest of Kristian Levring's work but now I'd like to see more of his movies. Denmark has produced some great directors (Carl Theodor Dreyer and Lars von Trier, for instance), and I'd say that Levring is also in that number.

Got a chance to catch the world premiere of Fear Me Not, directed and written by Kristian Levring, at the Toronto Internal Film Festival.

The film examines the deterioration of the life of a man in his mid-40's facing a mid-life crisis exasperated by the fact that he has become addicted to a prescription medication with nasty side effects.

Ulrich Thomsen dominates the movie as Mikael, a doctor who has recently taken a sabbatical from work only to find himself bored and at a loss at what to do with his time. On a whim he enters into a medical study examining the side effects of a newly developed anti-depressant. When he, and other patients, begin to exhibit violent tendencies Mikael finds that he is both unable and unwilling to stop taking the drugs. Fascinated by the positive outlook on life that he gains from the little pills Mikael finds himself acting out increasingly aggressive and violent fantasies on strangers and even his own family and friends.

Ulrich Thomsen does great work here portraying the mostly docile and kind Mikael with great depth and persona. Even in the midst of acting out his most cruel fantasies Thomsen displays a sense of uncertainty and bewilderment at his own actions as if he, along with the audience, is shocked at the dramatic results that the pills have produced. Paprika Steen, in a supporting role as Mikael's wife Sigrid, turns a mediocre role into something exciting. Even small scenes, like when Mikael and Sigrid are playing scrabble, are filled with tension as we watch Sigrid drift between anger, annoyance and hurt as she tries to convince Mikael to go back to work.

The cinematography is gorgeous and includes plenty of lush scenery. The editing really adds to the overall mood of the piece, the frequent jump-cuts helping to enhance the fragmented, jittery feelings as Mikael finds himself being splintered between two sides of himself.

As a whole the movie is decent but a last minute twist in the final act turns the movie into full blown melodrama. Despite the histrionics of the final ten minutes and the rather disappointing conclusion told mostly through voice-over, the movie is still worth watching for Thomsen and Steen's performances as well as the enticing and astonishing build-up as Mikael goes from a placid family-man to a malevolent, abusive husband.

Levring and Thomsen were actually at the screening and had a brief q & a afterwards. It was really cool, Levring talked a bit about his inspiration for the film and mentioned Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde which really came across in the way that the pill popping scenes were filmed and edited.

Hitchcock would be proud. The art of hinting within cinema is still alive. This doesn't spell everything out for you. The trailer for this does not do it justice. I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. It is a film about discontentment, control, and the urges and thoughts lying just beneath the surface. I was pleased to find that Anders Thomas Jensen helped write this, as I enjoyed Blinkende Lygter(or Flickering Lights) and Mørke(also known as Murk), the latter in particular. I would say that you can tell that he had a hand in making this. I believe this is the first film by Levring I've seen, but I certainly am taking notice to his directorial style. Interesting choices are made, among other places in framing and cutting. The editing and cinematography are definitely worth attention. The story-telling is very subtle, and the use of narration does not become a crutch. The pacing is spot-on, it never moved too slow or fast. The acting is excellent, every single performance is beyond reproach. Even the kid, and that's not something that happens all that often. The use of music is good. This can be rather intense, and proper care is taken to build up suspense. There is a little sexuality including obscured nudity, as well as a bit of language and bloodless violence in this. I recommend this to anyone who wants the themes explored for 95 minutes, and/or those who dig a great thriller. 8/10

but only a so-so rendering of what ultimately is the harrowing depiction of a man's mid-life crisis. Thomsen is awesome, as is Steen, and the atmosphere is "Dogmetically" foreboding, but the protagonist is never convincingly portrayed in any way other than the selfish, psychotic lout that he embodies throughout. I loved Levring's The King Is Alive, and in fact gave it a rare (for me) 10 rating on this website. But for me this is a classic case of a film failing to become greater than the sum of its parts. In the end, a decent enough character study, with a neat twist at the end, but nothing we haven't seen before, and done much better (Michael Douglas in Falling Down came to mind for me, at least). 5 out of 10 on my IMDb-ometer.

I was disappointed to notice the relatively low collective rating for Kristian Levring's "Fear Me Not." This was one of the best psychological thrillers I've yet to see. Particularly, I think the plot twist was brilliant. I don't want to spoil the film, so I won't go into details about the twist - however, I can say that it definitely pulled me further into the story and it enhanced the film's depth and psychological implications. I also feel the setting was perfect for the protagonist's dark emotional journey. His family's home was on a vast lake within the picturesque Danish landscape. If shot in the summer, the setting would have felt completely different. However, it seems to have been filmed in the fall or early winter, which aptly portrays the cold, dark and somber environment associated with winters in Northwestern Europe. Overall, I believe that anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers would have much to become mesmerized with in this film.